Wireless telephone with adaptive microphone array

ABSTRACT

A wireless telephone having an array of microphones and a digital signal processor (DSP) and a method of processing audio signals from a wireless telephone having an array of microphones and a DSP. The wireless telephone includes an array of microphones and a DSP. Each microphone in the array is configured to receive sound waves emanating from the surrounding environment and to generate an audio signal corresponding thereto. The DSP is coupled to the array of microphones. The DSP is configured to receive the audio signals from the array of microphones, to detect a direction of arrival (DOA) of a sound wave emanating from the mouth of a user based on the audio signals and to adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA to produce a first audio output signal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/065,131 to Chen, entitled “Wireless Telephone WithUni-Directional and Omni-Directional Microphones” and filed Feb. 24,2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/018,921 to Chen et al., entitled “Wireless Telephone HavingMultiple Microphones” and filed Dec. 22, 2004. The entirety of each ofthese applications is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully setforth herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to mobile telecommunicationdevices, and in particular to wireless telephones.

2. Background Art

Background noise is an inherent problem in wireless telephonecommunication. Conventional wireless telephones include a singlemicrophone that receives a near-end user's voice and outputs acorresponding audio signal for subsequent encoding and transmission tothe telephone of a far-end user. However, the audio signal output bythis microphone typically includes both a voice component and abackground noise component. As a result, the far-end user often hasdifficulty deciphering the desired voice component against the din ofthe embedded background noise component.

Conventional wireless telephones often include a noise suppressor toreduce the detrimental effects of background noise. A noise suppressorattempts to reduce the level of the background noise by processing theaudio signal output by the microphone through various algorithms. Thesealgorithms attempt to differentiate between a voice component of theaudio signal and a background noise component of the audio signal, andthen attenuate the level of the background noise component.

Conventional wireless telephones often also include a voice activitydetector (VAD) that attempts to identify and transmit only thoseportions of the audio signal that include a voice component. One benefitof VAD is that bandwidth is conserved on the telecommunication networkbecause only selected portions of the audio signal are transmitted.

In order to operate effectively, both the noise suppressor and the VADmust be able to differentiate between the voice component and thebackground noise component of the input audio signal. However, inpractice, differentiating the voice component from the background noisecomponent is difficult.

What is needed then, is a wireless telephone that better mitigates theeffect of background noise present in an input audio signal as comparedto conventional wireless telephones, thereby resulting in thetransmission of a cleaner voice signal during telephone communication.In particular, the desired wireless telephone should betterdifferentiate between a voice component and a background noise componentof an input audio signal as compared to conventional wirelesstelephones.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a wireless telephone having atleast one adaptive array of microphones.

A first embodiment of the present invention includes an adaptive arrayof microphones. Each microphone in the microphone array is configured toreceive sound waves emanating from the surrounding environment and togenerate an audio signal corresponding thereto. A digital signalprocessor (DSP) within the wireless telephone is configured to receivethe audio signals from the array of microphones, detect a direction ofarrival (DOA) of a sound wave emanating from the mouth of a user basedon the audio signals, and adaptively combine the audio signals based onthe DOA to produce a first audio output signal. For example, the DSP maybe configured to adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOAto effectively steer a maximum sensitivity angle of the microphone arrayso that the mouth of the user is within the maximum sensitivity angle.The maximum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the microphone array is above a predetermined threshold.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to thefirst array of microphones described in the first embodiment of thepresent invention, a wireless telephone includes a second array ofmicrophones. Each microphone in the second array of microphones isconfigured to receive sound waves emanating from the surroundingenvironment and to generate an audio signal corresponding thereto. Asecond DSP within the wireless telephone is configured to receive theaudio signals from the second array of microphones, detect a DOA of asound wave emanating from the mouth of a user based on the audiosignals, and adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA toproduce a second audio output signal. For example, the second DSP may beconfigured to adaptively combine the audio signals from the second arrayof microphones based on the DOA to effectively steer a minimumsensitivity angle of the second microphone array so that the mouth ofthe user is within the minimum sensitivity angle. The minimumsensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which a sensitivity ofthe second microphone array is below a predetermined threshold.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, an adaptive array ofmicrophones is included. Each microphone in the array is configured toreceive sound waves emanating from the surrounding environment and togenerate an audio signal corresponding thereto. A DSP within thewireless telephone is coupled to the array of microphones, the DSPconfigured to receive the audio signals from the array of microphones,detect a direction of arrival (DOA) of a sound wave emanating from abackground noise source based on the audio signals and to adaptivelycombine the audio signals based on the DOA to produce a first audiooutput signal. For example, the DSP may be configured to adaptivelycombine the audio signals based on the DOA to effectively steer aminimum sensitivity angle of the microphone array so that the backgroundnoise source is within the minimum sensitivity angle, wherein theminimum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the microphone is below a predetermined threshold.

In addition, the wireless telephone may include a second array ofmicrophones. Each microphone in the second array of microphones isconfigured to receive sound waves emanating from the surroundingenvironment and to generate an audio signal corresponding thereto. Asecond DSP within the wireless telephone is configured to receive theaudio signals from the second array of microphones, detect a DOA of thesound wave emanating from the background noise source based on the audiosignals and adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA toproduce a second audio output signal. For example, the second DSP may beconfigured to adaptively combine the audio signals from the second arrayof microphones based on the DOA to effectively steer a maximumsensitivity angle of the second microphone array so that the backgroundnoise source is within the maximum sensitivity angle, wherein themaximum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the second microphone array is above a predeterminedthreshold.

In a further embodiment, a wireless telephone also includes a voiceactivity detector (VAD). The VAD receives the first and second audiooutput signals and detects time intervals in which a voice component ispresent in the first audio output signal based on the content of thefirst audio output signal and the second audio output signal.Furthermore, the second DSP is configured to (i) detect a DOA of a soundwave emanating from the mouth of a user, and (ii) dynamically steer thesecond microphone array based on the DOA and the time intervals in whicha voice component is present in the first audio output signal.

Further embodiments and features of the present invention, as well asthe structure and operation of the various embodiments of the presentinvention, are described in detail below with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of the transmit path of aconventional wireless telephone.

FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram of the receive path of aconventional wireless telephone.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the front portion of a wirelesstelephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the back portion of a wirelesstelephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a transmit path of a wirelesstelephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for processing audio signalsin a wireless telephone having a first microphone and a secondmicrophone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a signal processor in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for processing audio signalsin a wireless telephone having a first microphone and a secondmicrophone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates voice and noise components output from first andsecond microphones, in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a background noise cancellationmodule in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a signal processor inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method for processing audio signalsin a wireless telephone having a first microphone and a secondmicrophone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A illustrates an exemplary frequency spectrum of a voicecomponent and a background noise component of a first audio signaloutput by a first microphone, in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12B illustrates an exemplary frequency spectrum of an audio signalupon which noise suppression has been performed, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a transmit path of a wirelesstelephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart depicting a method for processing audio signalsin a wireless telephone having a first microphone and a secondmicrophone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows exemplary plots depicting a voice component and abackground noise component output by first and second microphones of awireless telephone, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 shows an exemplary polar pattern of an omni-directionalmicrophone.

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary polar pattern of a subcardioid microphone.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary polar pattern of a cardioid microphone.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary polar pattern of a hypercardioid microphone.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary polar pattern of a line microphone.

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary microphone array, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 22A-D show exemplary polar patterns of a microphone array.

FIG. 22E shows exemplary directivity patterns of a far-field and anear-field response.

FIG. 23 shows exemplary steered and unsteered directivity patterns.

FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram of a transmit path of a wirelesstelephone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers mayindicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, theleft-most digit(s) of a reference number may identify the drawing inwhich the reference number first appears.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a wireless telephone implemented with atleast one microphone array and at least one DSP. As will be described inmore detail herein, in a first embodiment, audio signals output bymicrophones in a first microphone array can be combined by a first DSPin such a manner to reduce the amount of background noise picked up bythe first microphone array. In a second embodiment, audio signals outputby microphones in a second microphone array can be combined by a secondDSP in such a manner to reduce the amount of a user's voice picked up bythe second microphone array. In a third embodiment, a direction ofarrival (DOA) of a highly directional sound source can be determined. Inthis embodiment, audio signals output by microphones in a firstmicrophone array can be combined in such a manner to reduce the pick-upof the highly directional sound by the first microphone array.Additionally or alternatively, audio signals output by microphones in asecond microphone array can be combined in such a manner to increase thepick-up of the highly directional sound source by the second microphonearray.

The detailed description of the invention is divided into eightsubsections. In subsection I, an overview of the workings of aconventional wireless telephone are discussed. This discussionfacilitates the description of embodiments of the present invention. Insubsection II, an overview of a wireless telephone implemented with afirst microphone and second microphone is presented. In subsection III,a first embodiment is described in which the output of the secondmicrophone is used to cancel a background noise component output by thefirst microphone. In subsection IV, a second embodiment is described inwhich the output of the second microphone is used to suppress abackground noise component output by the first microphone. In subsectionV, a third embodiment is discussed in which the output of the secondmicrophone is used to improve VAD technology incorporated in thewireless telephone. In subsection VI, alternative arrangements of thepresent invention are discussed. In subsection VII, exampleunidirectional microphones are discussed. In subsection VIII, examplemicrophone arrays are discussed. In subsection IX, according toembodiments of the present invention, a wireless telephone implementedwith at least one microphone array is described.

I. Overview of Signal Processing within Conventional Wireless Telephones

Conventional wireless telephones use what is commonly referred to asencoder/decoder technology. The transmit path of a wireless telephoneencodes an audio signal picked up by a microphone onboard the wirelesstelephone. The encoded audio signal is then transmitted to anothertelephone.

The receive path of a wireless telephone receives signals transmittedfrom other wireless telephones. The received signals are then decodedinto a format that an end user can understand.

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of a typical transmit path 100 ofa conventional digital wireless telephone. Transmit path 100 includes amicrophone 109, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 101, a noisesuppressor 102, a voice activity detector (VAD) 103, a speech encoder104, a channel encoder 105, a modulator 106, a radio frequency (RF)module 107, and an antenna 108.

Microphone 109 receives a near-end user's voice and outputs acorresponding audio signal, which typically includes both a voicecomponent and a background noise component. The A/D converter 101converts the audio signal from an analog to a digital form. The audiosignal is next processed through noise suppressor 102. Noise suppressor102 uses various algorithms, known to persons skilled in the pertinentart, to suppress the level of embedded background noise that is presentin the audio signal.

Speech encoder 104 converts the output of noise suppressor 102 into achannel index. The particular format that speech encoder 104 uses toencode the signal is dependent upon the type of technology being used.For example, the signal may be encoded in formats that comply with GSM(Global Standard for Mobile Communication), CDMA (Code Division MultipleAccess), or other technologies commonly used for telecommunication.These different encoding formats are known to persons skilled in therelevant art and for the sake of brevity are not discussed in furtherdetail.

As shown in FIG. 1A, VAD 103 also receives the output of noisesuppressor 102. VAD 103 uses algorithms known to persons skilled in thepertinent art to analyze the audio signal output by noise suppressor 102and determine when the user is speaking. VAD 103 typically operates on aframe-by-frame basis to generate a signal that indicates whether or nota frame includes voice content. This signal is provided to speechencoder 104, which uses the signal to determine how best to process theframe. For example, if VAD 103 indicates that a frame does not includevoice content, speech encoder 103 may skip the encoding of the frameentirely.

Channel encoder 105 is employed to reduce bit errors that can occurafter the signal is processed through the speech encoder 104. That is,channel encoder 105 makes the signal more robust by adding redundantbits to the signal. For example, in a wireless phone implementing theoriginal GSM technology, a typical bit rate at the output of the speechencoder might be about 13 kilobits (kb) per second, whereas, a typicalbit rate at the output of the channel encoder might be about 22 kb/sec.The extra bits that are present in the signal after channel encoding donot carry information about the speech; they just make the signal morerobust, which helps reduce the bit errors.

The modulator 106 combines the digital signals from the channel encoderinto symbols, which become an analog wave form. Finally, RF module 107translates the analog wave forms into radio frequencies, and thentransmits the RF signal via antenna 108 to another telephone.

FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram of a typical receive path 120 of aconventional wireless telephone. Receive path 120 processes an incomingsignal in almost exactly the reverse fashion as compared to transmitpath 100.

As shown in FIG. 1B, receive path 120 includes an antenna 128, an RFmodule 127, a channel decoder 125, a speech decoder 124, a digital toanalog (D/A) converter 122, and a speaker 129.

During operation, an analog input signal is received by antenna 128 andRF module 127 translates the radio frequencies into basebandfrequencies. Demodulator 126 converts the analog waveforms back into adigital signal. Channel decoder 125 decodes the digital signal back intothe channel index, which speech decoder 124 converts back into digitizedspeech. D/A converter 122 converts the digitized speech into analogspeech. Lastly, speaker 129 converts the analog speech signal into asound pressure wave so that it can be heard by an end user.

II. Overview of a Wireless Telephone Having Two Microphones inAccordance with the Present Invention

A wireless telephone in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a first microphone and a second microphone. Asmentioned above and as will be described in more detail herein, an audiosignal output by the second microphone can be used to improve thequality of an audio signal output by the first microphone or to supportimproved VAD technology.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate front and back portions, respectively, of awireless telephone 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 2, the front portion of wireless telephone200 includes a first microphone 201 and a speaker 203 located thereon.First microphone 201 is located so as to be close to a user's mouthduring regular use of wireless telephone 200. Speaker 203 is located soas to be close to a user's ear during regular use of wireless telephone200.

As shown in FIG. 3, second microphone 202 is located on the back portionof wireless telephone 200. Second microphone 202 is located so as to befurther away from a user's mouth during regular use than firstmicrophone 201, and preferably is located to be as far away from theuser's mouth during regular use as possible.

By mounting first microphone 201 so that it is closer to a user's mouththan second microphone 202 during regular use, the amplitude of theuser's voice as picked up by the first microphone 201 will likely begreater than the amplitude of the user's voice as picked up by secondmicrophone 202. Similarly, by so mounting first microphone 201 andsecond microphone 202, the amplitude of any background noise picked upby second microphone 202 will likely be greater than the amplitude ofthe background noise picked up by first microphone 201. The manner inwhich the signals generated by first microphone 201 and secondmicrophone 202 are utilized by wireless telephone 200 will be describedin more detail below.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment in which first and second microphones201 and 202 are mounted on the front and back portion of a wirelesstelephone, respectively. However, the invention is not limited to thisembodiment and the first and second microphones may be located in otherlocations on a wireless telephone and still be within the scope of thepresent invention. For performance reasons, however, it is preferablethat the first and second microphone be mounted so that the firstmicrophone is closer to the mouth of a user than the second microphoneduring regular use of the wireless telephone.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a transmit path 400 of awireless telephone that is implemented with a first microphone and asecond microphone in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Transmit path 400 includes a first microphone 201 and a secondmicrophone 202, and a first A/D converter 410 and a second A/D converter412. In addition, transmit path 400 includes a signal processor 420, aspeech encoder 404, a channel encoder 405, a modulator 406, an RF module407, and an antenna 408. Speech encoder 404, channel encoder 405,modulator 406, RF module 407, and antenna 408 are respectively analogousto speech encoder 104, channel encoder 105, modulator 106, RF module107, and antenna 108 discussed with reference to transmit path 100 ofFIG. 1A and thus their operation will not be discussed in detail below.

The method by which audio signals are processed along transmit path 400of the wireless telephone depicted in FIG. 4 will now be described withreference to the flowchart 500 of FIG. 5. The present invention,however, is not limited to the description provided by the flowchart500. Rather, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevantart(s) from the teachings provided herein that other functional flowsare within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The method of flowchart 500 begins at step 510, in which firstmicrophone 201 outputs a first audio signal, which includes a voicecomponent and a background noise component. A/D converter 410 receivesthe first audio signal and converts it from an analog to digital formatbefore providing it to signal processor 420.

At step 520, second microphone 202 outputs a second audio signal, whichalso includes a voice component and a background noise component. A/Dconverter 412 receives the second audio signal and converts it from ananalog to digital format before providing it to signal processor 420.

At step 530, signal processor 420 receives and processes the first andsecond audio signals, thereby generating a third audio signal. Inparticular, signal processor 420 increases a ratio of the voicecomponent to the noise component of the first audio signal based on thecontent of the second audio signal to produce a third audio signal.

The third audio signal is then provided directly to speech encoder 404.Speech encoder 404 and channel encoder 405 operate to encode the thirdaudio signal using any of a variety of well known speech and channelencoding techniques. Modulator 406, RF module and antenna 408 thenoperate in a well-known manner to transmit the encoded audio signal toanother telephone.

As will be discussed in more detail herein, signal processor 420 maycomprise a background noise cancellation module and/or a noisesuppressor.

The manner in which the background noise cancellation module and thenoise suppressor operate are described in more detail in subsections IIIand IV, respectively.

III. Use of Two Microphones to Perform Background Noise Cancellation inAccordance with an Embodiment of the Present Invention

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment in which signal processor 420 includes abackground noise cancellation module 605 and a downsampler 615(optional). Background noise cancellation module 605 receives the firstand second audio signals output by the first and second microphones 201and 202, respectively.

Background noise cancellation module 605 uses the content of the secondaudio signal to cancel a background noise component present in the firstaudio signal to produce a third audio signal. The details of thecancellation are described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Thethird audio signal is sent to the rest of transmit path 400 before beingtransmitted to the telephone of a far-end user.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart 700 of a method for processing audiosignals using a wireless telephone having two microphones in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. Flowchart 700 is used tofacilitate the description of how background noise cancellation module605 cancels at least a portion of a background noise component includedin the first audio signal output by first microphone 201.

The method of flowchart 700 starts at step 710, in which firstmicrophone 201 outputs a first audio signal. The first audio signalincludes a voice component and a background noise component. In step720, second microphone 202 outputs a second audio signal. Similar to thefirst audio signal, the second audio signal includes a voice componentand a background noise component.

FIG. 8 shows exemplary outputs from first and second microphones 201 and202, respectively, upon which background noise cancellation module 605may operate. FIG. 8 shows an exemplary first audio signal 800 output byfirst microphone 201. First audio signal 800 consists of a voicecomponent 810 and a background noise component 820, which are alsoseparately depicted in FIG. 8 for illustrative purposes. FIG. 8 furthershows an exemplary second audio signal 850 output by second microphone202. Second audio signal 850 consists of a voice component 860 and abackground noise component 870, which are also separately depicted inFIG. 8. As can be seen from FIG. 8, the amplitude of the voice componentpicked up by first microphone 201 (i.e., voice component 810) isadvantageously greater than the amplitude of the voice component pickedup by second microphone 202 (i.e., voice component 860), and vice versafor the background noise components. As was discussed earlier, therelative amplitude of the voice component (background noise component)picked up by first microphone 201 and second microphone 202 is afunction of their respective locations on wireless telephone 200.

At step 730 (FIG. 7), background noise cancellation module 605 uses thesecond audio signal to cancel at least a portion of the background noisecomponent included in the first audio signal output by first microphone201. Finally, the third audio signal produced by background noisecancellation module 605 is transmitted to another telephone. That is,after background noise cancellation module 605 cancels out at least aportion of the background noise component of the first audio signaloutput by first microphone 201 to produce a third audio signal, thethird audio signal is then processed through the standard components orprocessing steps used in conventional encoder/decoder technology, whichwere described above with reference to FIG. 1A. The details of theseadditional signal processing steps are not described further forbrevity.

In one embodiment, background noise cancellation module 605 includes anadaptive filter and an adder. FIG. 9 depicts a background noisecancellation module 605 including an adaptive filter 901 and an adder902. Adaptive filter 901 receives the second audio signal from secondmicrophone 202 and outputs an audio signal. Adder 902 adds the firstaudio signal, received from first microphone 201, to the audio signaloutput by adaptive filter 901 to produce a third audio signal. By addingthe first audio signal to the audio signal output by adaptive filter901, the third audio signal produced by adder 902 has at least a portionof the background noise component that was present in the first audiosignal cancelled out.

In another embodiment of the present invention, signal processor 420includes a background noise cancellation module 605 and a downsampler615. In accordance with this embodiment, A/D converter 410 and A/Dconverter 412 sample the first and second audio signals output by firstand second microphones 201 and 202, respectively, at a higher samplingrate than is typically used within wireless telephones. For example, thefirst audio signal output by first microphone 201 and the second audiosignal output by second microphones 202 can be sampled at 16 kHz by A/Dconverters 410 and 412, respectively; in comparison, the typical signalsampling rate used in a transmit path of most conventional wirelesstelephones is 8 kHz. After the first and second audio signals areprocessed through background noise cancellation module 605 to cancel outthe background noise component from the first audio signal, downsampler615 downsamples the third audio signal produced by backgroundcancellation module 605 back to the proper sampling rate (e.g. 8 kHz).The higher sampling rate of this embodiment offers more precise timeslicing and more accurate time matching, if added precision and accuracyare required in the background noise cancellation module 605.

As mentioned above and as is described in more detail in the nextsubsection, additionally or alternatively, the audio signal output bythe second microphone is used to improve noise suppression of the audiosignal output by the first microphone.

IV. Use of Two Microphones to Perform Improved Noise Suppression inAccordance with an Embodiment of the Present Invention

As noted above, signal processor 420 may include a noise suppressor.FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which signal processor 420 includes anoise suppressor 1007. In accordance with this embodiment, noisesuppressor 1007 receives the first audio signal and the second audiosignal output by first and second microphones 201 and 202, respectively.Noise suppressor 1007 suppresses at least a portion of the backgroundnoise component included in the first audio signal based on the contentof the first audio signal and the second audio signal. The details ofthis background noise suppression are described in more detail withreference to FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart 1100 of a method for processing audiosignals using a wireless telephone having a first and a secondmicrophone in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.This method is used to suppress at least a portion of the backgroundnoise component included in the output of the first microphone.

The method of flowchart 1100 begins at step 1110, in which firstmicrophone 201 outputs a first audio signal that includes a voicecomponent and a background noise component. In step 1120, secondmicrophone 202 outputs a second audio signal that includes a voicecomponent and a background noise component.

At step 1130, noise suppressor 1007 receives the first and second audiosignals and suppresses at least a portion of the background noisecomponent of the first audio signal based on the content of the firstand second audio signals to produce a third audio signal. The details ofthis step will now be described in more detail.

In one embodiment, noise suppressor 1007 converts the first and secondaudio signals into the frequency domain before suppressing thebackground noise component in the first audio signal. FIGS. 12A and 12Bshow exemplary frequency spectra that are used to illustrate thefunction of noise suppressor 1007.

FIG. 12A shows two components: a voice spectrum component 1210 and anoise spectrum component 1220. Voice spectrum 1210 includes pitchharmonic peaks (the equally spaced peaks) and the three formants in thespectral envelope.

FIG. 12A is an exemplary plot used for conceptual illustration purposesonly. It is to be appreciated that voice component 1210 and noisecomponent 1220 are mixed and inseparable in audio signals picked up byactual microphones. In reality, a microphone picks up a single mixedvoice and noise signal and its spectrum.

FIG. 12B shows an exemplary single mixed voice and noise spectrum beforenoise suppression (i.e., spectrum 1260) and after noise suppression(i.e., spectrum 1270). For example, spectrum 1260 is the magnitude of aFast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the first audio signal output by firstmicrophone 201.

A typical noise suppressor keeps an estimate of the background noisespectrum (e.g., spectrum 1220 in FIG. 12A), and then compares theobserved single voice and noise spectrum (e.g., spectrum 1260 in FIG.12B) with this estimated background noise spectrum to determine whethereach frequency component is predominately voice or predominantly noise.If it is considered predominantly noise, the magnitude of the FFTcoefficient at that frequency is attenuated. If it is consideredpredominantly voice, then the FFT coefficient is kept as is. This can beseen in FIG. 12B.

There are many frequency regions where spectrum 1270 is on top ofspectrum 1260. These frequency regions are considered to containpredominantly voice. On the other hand, regions where spectrum 1260 andspectrum 1270 are at different places are the frequency regions that areconsidered predominantly noise. By attenuating the frequency regionsthat are predominantly noise, noise suppressor 1007 produces a thirdaudio signal (e.g., an audio signal corresponding to frequency spectrum1270) with an increased ratio of the voice component to background noisecomponent compared to the first audio signal.

The operations described in the last two paragraphs above correspond toa conventional single-microphone noise suppression scheme. According toan embodiment of the present invention, noise suppressor 1007additionally uses the spectrum of the second audio signal picked up bythe second microphone to estimate the background noise spectrum 1220more accurately than in a single-microphone noise suppression scheme.

In a conventional single-microphone noise suppressor, background noisespectrum 1220 is estimated between “talk spurts”, i.e., during the gapsbetween active speech segments corresponding to uttered syllables. Sucha scheme works well only if the background noise is relativelystationary, i.e., when the general shape of noise spectrum 1220 does notchange much during each talk spurt. If noise spectrum 1220 changessignificantly through the duration of the talk spurt, then thesingle-microphone noise suppressor will not work well because the noisespectrum estimated during the last “gap” is not reliable. Therefore, ingeneral, and especially for non-stationary background noise, theavailability of the spectrum of the second audio signal picked up by thesecond microphone allows noise suppressor 1007 to get a more accurate,up-to-date estimate of noise spectrum 1220, and thus achieve betternoise suppression performance.

Note that the spectrum of the second audio signal should not be useddirectly as the estimate of the noise spectrum 1220. There are at leasttwo problems with using the spectrum of the second audio signaldirectly: first, the second audio signal may still have some voicecomponent in it; and second, the noise component in the second audiosignal is generally different from the noise component in the firstaudio signal.

To circumvent the first problem, the voice component can be cancelledout of the second audio signal. For example, in conjunction with a noisecancellation scheme, the noise-cancelled version of the first audiosignal, which is a cleaner version of the main voice signal, can passthrough an adaptive filter. The signal resulting from the adaptivefilter can be added to the second audio signal to cancel out a largeportion of the voice component in the second audio signal.

To circumvent the second problem, an approximation of the noisecomponent in the first audio signal can be determined, for example, byfiltering the voice-cancelled version of the second audio signal withadaptive filter 901.

The example method outlined above, which includes the use of a first andsecond audio signal, allows noise suppressor 1007 to obtain a moreaccurate and up-to-date estimate of noise spectrum 1220 during a talkspurt than a conventional noise suppression scheme that only uses oneaudio signal. An alternative embodiment of the present invention can usethe second audio signal picked up by the second microphone to helpobtain a more accurate determination of talk spurts versusinter-syllable gaps; and this will, in turn, produce a more reliableestimate of noise spectrum 1220, and thus improve the noise suppressionperformance.

For the particular example of FIG. 12B, spectrum 1260 in the noiseregions is attenuated by 10 dB resulting in spectrum 1270. It should beappreciated that an attenuation of 10 dB is shown for illustrativepurposes, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons havingordinary skill in the art that spectrum 1260 could be attenuated by moreor less than 10 dB.

Lastly, the third audio signal is transmitted to another telephone. Theprocessing and transmission of the third audio signal is achieved inlike manner to that which was described above in reference toconventional transmit path 100 (FIG. 1A).

As mentioned above and as is described in more detail in the nextsubsection, additionally or alternatively, the audio signal output bythe second microphone is used to improve VAD technology incorporatedwithin the wireless telephone.

V. Use of Two Microphones to Perform Improved VAD in Accordance with anEmbodiment of the Present Invention

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a transmit path 1300 of awireless telephone that is implemented with a first microphone and asecond microphone in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. Transmit path 1300 includes a first microphone 201 and asecond microphone 202. In addition, transmit path 1300 includes an A/Dconverter 1310, an A/D converter 1312, a noise suppressor 1307(optional), a VAD 1320, a speech encoder 1304, a channel encoder 1305, amodulator 1306, an RF module 1307, and an antenna 1308. Speech encoder1304, channel encoder 1305, modulator 1306, RF module 1307, and antenna1308 are respectively analogous to speech encoder 104, channel encoder105, modulator 106, RF module 107, and antenna 108 discussed withreference to transmit path 100 of FIG. 1A and thus their operation willnot be discussed in detail below.

For illustrative purposes and not limitation, transmit path 1300 isdescribed in an embodiment in which noise suppressor 1307 is notpresent. In this example embodiment, VAD 1320 receives the first audiosignal and second audio signal output by first microphone 201 and thesecond microphone 202, respectively. VAD 1320 uses both the first audiosignal output by the first microphone 201 and the second audio signaloutput by second microphone 202 to provide detection of voice activityin the first audio signal. VAD 1320 sends an indication signal to speechencoder 1304 indicating which time intervals of the first audio signalinclude a voice component. The details of the function of VAD 1320 aredescribed with reference to FIG. 14.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart 1400 of a method for processing audiosignals in a wireless telephone having a first and a second microphone,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This methodis used to detect time intervals in which an audio signal output by thefirst microphone includes a voice component.

The method of flowchart 1400 begins at step 1410, in which firstmicrophone 201 outputs a first audio signal the includes a voicecomponent and a background noise component. In step 1420, secondmicrophone 202 outputs a second audio signal that includes a voicecomponent and a background noise component.

FIG. 15 shows exemplary plots of the first and second audio signalsoutput by first and second microphones 201 and 202, respectively. Plot1500 is a representation of the first audio signal output by firstmicrophone 201. The audio signal shown in plot 1500 includes a voicecomponent 1510 and a background noise component 1520. The audio signalshown in plot 1550 is a representation of the second audio signal outputby second microphone 202. Plot 1550 also includes a voice component 1560and a background noise component 1570. As discussed above, since firstmicrophone 201 is preferably closer to a user's mouth during regular usethan second microphone 202, the amplitude of voice component 1510 isgreater than the amplitude of voice component 1560. Conversely, theamplitude of background noise component 1570 is greater than theamplitude of background noise component 1520.

As shown in step 1430 of flowchart. 1400, VAD 1320, based on the contentof the first audio signal (plot 1500) and the second audio signal (plot1550), detects time intervals in which voice component 1510 is presentin the first audio signal. By using the second audio signal in additionto the first audio signal to detect voice activity in the first audiosignal, VAD 1320 achieves improved voice activity detection as comparedto VAD technology that only monitors one audio signal. That is, theadditional information coming from the second audio signal, whichincludes mostly background noise component 1570, helps VAD 1320 betterdifferentiate what in the first audio signal constitutes the voicecomponent, thereby helping VAD 1320 achieve improved performance.

As an example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, inaddition to all the other signal features that a conventionalsingle-microphone VAD normally monitors, VAD 1320 can also monitor theenergy ratio or average magnitude ratio between the first audio signaland the second audio signal to help it better detect voice activity inthe first audio signal. This possibility is readily evident by comparingfirst audio signal 1500 and second audio signal 1550 in FIG. 15. Foraudio signals 1500 and 1550 shown in FIG. 15, the energy of first audiosignal 1500 is greater than the energy of second audio signal 1550during talk spurt (active speech). On the other hand, during the gapsbetween talk spurts (i.e. background noise only regions), the oppositeis true. Thus, the energy ratio of the first audio signal over thesecond audio signal goes from a high value during talk spurts to a lowvalue during the gaps between talk spurts. This change of energy ratioprovides a valuable clue about voice activity in the first audio signal.This valuable clue is not available if only a single microphone is usedto obtain the first audio signal. It is only available through the useof two microphones, and VAD 1320 can use this energy ratio to improveits accuracy of voice activity detection.

VI. Alternative Embodiments of the Present Invention

In an example alternative embodiment (not shown), signal processor 420includes both a background noise cancellation module and a noisesuppressor. In this embodiment, the background noise cancellation modulecancels at least a portion of a background noise component included inthe first audio signal based on the content of the second audio signalto produce a third audio signal. Then the noise suppressor receives thesecond and third audio signals and suppresses at least a portion of aresidual background noise component present in the third audio signalbased on the content of the second audio signal and the third audiosignal, in like manner to that described above. The noise suppressorthen provides a fourth audio signal to the remaining components and/orprocessing steps, as described above.

In another alternative example embodiment, a transmit path having afirst and second microphone can include a signal processor (similar tosignal processor 420) and a VAD (similar to VAD 1320). A person havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a signal processor canprecede a VAD in a transmit path, or vice versa. In addition, a signalprocessor and a VAD can process the outputs of the two microphonescontemporaneously. For illustrative purposes, and not limitation, anembodiment in which a signal processor precedes a VAD in a transmit pathhaving two microphones is described in more detail below.

In this illustrative embodiment, a signal processor increases a ratio ofa voice component to a background noise component of a first audiosignal based on the content of at least one of the first audio signaland a second audio signal to produce a third audio signal (similar tothe function of signal processor 420 described in detail above). Thethird audio signal is then received by a VAD. The VAD also receives asecond audio signal output by a second microphone (e.g., secondmicrophone 202). In a similar manner to that described in detail above,the VAD detects time intervals in which a voice component is present inthe third signal based on the content of the second audio signal and thethird audio signal.

In a still further embodiment, a VAD can precede a noise suppressor, ina transmit path having two microphones. In this embodiment, the VADreceives a first audio signal and a second audio signal output by afirst microphone and a second microphone, respectively, to detect timeintervals in which a voice component is present in the first audiosignal based on the content of the first and second audio signals, inlike manner to that described above. The noise suppressor receives thefirst and second audio signals and suppresses a background noisecomponent in the first audio signal based on the content of the firstaudio signal and the second audio signal, in like manner to thatdescribed above.

VII. Embodiments Implementing Uni-Directional Microphones

At least one of the microphones used in exemplary wireless telephone 200can be a uni-directional microphone in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. As will be described in more detail below, auni-directional microphone is a microphone that is most sensitive tosound waves originating from a particular direction (e.g., sound wavescoming from directly in front of the microphone). Some of theinformation provided below concerning uni-directional andomni-directional microphones was found on the following website:<http://www.audio-technica.com/using/mphones/guide/pattern.html>.

Persons skilled in the relevant art(s) will appreciate that microphonesare often identified by their directional properties that is, how wellthe microphones pick up sound from various directions. Omni-directionalmicrophones pick up sound from just about every direction equally. Thus,omni-directional microphones work substantially the same pointed awayfrom a subject as pointed toward it, if the distances are equal. FIG. 16illustrates a polar pattern 1600 of an omni-directional microphone. Apolar pattern is a round plot that illustrates the sensitivity of amicrophone in decibels (dB) as it rotates in front of a fixed soundsource. Polar patterns, which are also referred to in the art as “pickuppatterns” or “directional patterns,” are well-known graphical aids forillustrating the directional properties of a microphone. As shown bypolar pattern 1600 of FIG. 16, an omni-directional microphone picks upsounds equally in all directions.

In contrast to omni-directional microphones, uni-directional microphonesare specially designed to respond best to sound originating from aparticular direction while tending to reject sound that arrives fromother directions. This directional ability is typically implementedthrough the use of external openings and internal passages in themicrophone that allow sound to reach both sides of the diaphragm in acarefully controlled way. Thus, in an example uni-directionalmicrophone, sound arriving from the front of the microphone will aiddiaphragm motion, while sound arriving from the side or rear will canceldiaphragm motion.

Exemplary types of uni-directional microphones include but are notlimited to subcardioid, cardioid, hypercardioid, and line microphones.Polar patterns for example microphones of each of these types areprovided in FIG. 17 (subcardioid), FIG. 18 (cardioid), FIG. 19(hypercardioid) and FIG. 20 (line). Each of these figures shows theacceptance angle and null(s) for each microphone. The acceptance angleis the maximum angle within which a microphone may be expected to offeruniform sensitivity. Acceptance angles may vary with frequency; however,high-quality microphones have polar patterns which change very littlewhen plotted at different frequencies. A null defines the angle at whicha microphone exhibits minimum sensitivity to incoming sounds.

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary polar pattern 1700 for a subcardioidmicrophone. The acceptance angle for polar pattern 1700 spans170-degrees, measured in a counterclockwise fashion from line 1705 toline 1708. The null for polar pattern 1700 is not located at aparticular point, but spans a range of angles-i.e., from line 1718 toline 1730. Lines 1718 and 1730 are at 100-degrees from upward-pointingvertical axis 1710, as measured in a counterclockwise and clockwisefashion, respectively. Hence, the null for polar pattern 1700 spans160-degrees from line 1718 to line 1730, measured in a counterclockwisefashion.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary polar pattern 1800 for a cardioid microphone.The acceptance angle for polar pattern 1800 spans 120-degrees, measuredin a counterclockwise fashion from line 1805 to line 1808. Polar pattern1800 has a single null 1860 located 180-degrees from upward-pointingvertical axis 1810.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary polar pattern 1900 for a hypercardioidmicrophone. The acceptance angle for polar pattern 1900 spans100-degrees, measured in a counterclockwise fashion from line 1905 toline 1908. Polar pattern 1900 has a first null 1920 and a second null1930. First null 1920 and second null 1930 are each 110-degrees fromupward-pointing vertical axis 1910, as measured in a counterclockwiseand clockwise fashion, respectively.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary polar pattern 2000 for a line microphone. Theacceptance angle for polar pattern 2000 spans 90-degrees, measured in acounterclockwise fashion from line 2005 to line 2008. Polar pattern 2000has a first null 2020 and a second null 2030. First null 2020 and secondnull 2030 are each 120-degrees from upward-pointing vertical axis 2010,as measured in a counterclockwise and clockwise fashion, respectively.

A unidirectional microphone's ability to reject much of the sound thatarrives from off-axis provides a greater working distance or “distancefactor” than an omni-directional microphone. Table 1, below, sets forththe acceptance angle, null, and distance factor (DF) for exemplarymicrophones of differing types. As Table 1 shows, the DF for anexemplary cardioid microphone is 1.7 while the DF for an exemplaryomni-directional microphone is 1.0. This means that if anomni-directional microphone is used in a uniformly noisy environment topick up a desired sound that is 10 feet away, a cardioid microphone usedat 17 feet away from the sound source should provide the same results interms of the ratio of desired signal to ambient noise. Among the otherexemplary microphone types listed in Table 1, the subcardioid microphoneperforms equally well at 12 feet, the hypercardioid at 20 feet, and theline at 25 feet. TABLE 1 Properties of Exemplary Microphones ofDiffering Types Omni- Hyper- directional Subcardioid Cardioid cardioidLine Acceptance Angle — 170° 120° 100°  90° Null None 100° 180° 110°120° Distance 1.0 1.2 1.7 2.0 2.5 Factor (DF)VIII. Microphone Arrays

A wireless telephone in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention can include at least one microphone array. As will bedescribed in more detail below, a microphone array includes a pluralityof microphones that are coupled to a digital signal processor (DSP). TheDSP can be configured to adaptively combined the audio signals output bythe microphones in the microphone array to effectively adjust thesensitivity of the microphone array to pick up sound waves originatingfrom a particular direction. Some of the information provided below onmicrophone arrays was found on the following website:<http://www.idiap.ch/-mccowan/arrays/tutorial.pdf>.

In a similar manner to uni-directional microphones, a microphone arraycan be used to enhance the pick up of sound originating from aparticular direction, while tending to reject sound that arrives fromother directions. Like uni-directional microphones, the sensitivity of amicrophone array can be represented by a polar pattern or a directivitypattern. However, unlike uni-directional microphones, the direction inwhich a microphone array is most sensitive is not fixed. Rather, it canbe dynamically adjusted. That is, the orientation of the main lobe of apolar pattern or directivity pattern of a microphone array can bedynamically adjusted.

A. Background on Microphone Arrays

FIG. 21 is a representation of an example microphone array 2100 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Microphone array2100 includes a plurality of microphones 2101, a plurality of AIDconverters 2103 and a digital signal processor (DSP) 2105. Microphones2101 function to convert a sound wave impinging thereon into audiooutput signals, in like manner to conventional microphones. A/Dconverters 2103 receive the analog audio output signals from microphones2101 and convert these signals to digital form in a manner well-known inthe relevant art(s). DSP 2105 receives and combines the digital signalsfrom A/D converters 2103 in a manner to be described below.

Also included in FIG. 21 are characteristic dimensions of microphonearray 2100. In an embodiment, microphones 2101 in microphone array 2100are approximately evenly spaced apart by a distance d. The distancebetween the first and last microphone in microphone array 2100 isdesignated as L. The following relationship is satisfied bycharacteristic dimensions L and d:L=(N-1)d,   Eq. (1)where N is the number of microphones in the array.

Characteristic dimensions d and/or L impact the response of microphonearray 2100. More particularly, the ratio of the total length ofmicrophones 2101 to the wavelength of the impinging sound (i.e., L/λ)affects the response of microphone array 2100. For example, FIGS. 22A-Dshow the polar patterns of a microphone array having different values ofL/λ, demonstrating the impact that this ratio has on the microphonearray's response.

As can be seen from FIGS. 22A-D, similar to uni-directional microphones,a microphone array has directional properties. In other words, theresponse of a microphone array to a particular sound source is dependenton the direction of arrival (DOA) of the sound waves emanating from thesound source in relation to the microphone array. The DOA of a soundwave can be understood by referring to FIG. 21. In FIG. 21, sound wavesemanating from a sound source are approximated (using the far-fieldapproximation described below) by a set of parallel wavefronts 2110 thatpropagate toward microphone array 2100 in a direction indicated by arrow2115. The DOA of parallel wavefronts 2110 can be defined as an angle φthat arrow 2115 makes with the axis along which microphones 2101 lie, asshown in the figure.

In addition to the DOA of a sound wave, the response of a microphonearray is affected by the distance a sound source is from the array.Sound waves impinging upon a microphone array can be classifiedaccording to a distance, r, these sound waves traveled in relation tothe characteristic dimension L and the wavelength of the sound λ. Inparticular, if r is greater than 2L²/λ, then the sound source isclassified as a far-field source and the curvature of the wavefronts ofthe sound waves impinging upon the microphone array can be neglected. Ifr is not greater than 2L²/λ, then the sound source is classified as anear-field source and the curvature of the wavefronts can not beneglected.

FIG. 22E shows an exemplary directivity pattern illustrating theresponse of a microphone array for a near-field source (dotted line) anda far-field source (solid line). In the directivity pattern, the array'sresponse is plotted on the vertical axis and the angular dependence isplotted on the horizontal axis.

In a similar manner to uni-directional microphones, a maximum and aminimum sensitivity angle can be defined for a microphone array. Amaximum sensitivity angle of a microphone array is defined as an anglewithin which a sensitivity of the microphone array is above apredetermined threshold. A minimum sensitivity angle of a microphonearray is defined as an angle within which a sensitivity of themicrophone array is below a predetermined threshold.

B. Examples of Steering a Response of a Microphone Array

As mentioned above, DSP 2105 of microphone array 2100 can be configuredto combine the audio output signals received from microphones 2101 (in amanner to be described presently) to effectively steer the directivitypattern of microphone array 2100.

In general, DSP 2105 receives N audio signals and produces a singleaudio output signal, where again N is the number of microphones in themicrophone array 2100. Each of the N audio signals received by DSP 2105can be multiplied by a weight factor, having a magnitude and phase, toproduce N products of audio signals and weight factors. DSP 2105 canthen produce a single audio output signal from the collection ofreceived audio signals by summing the N products of audio signals andweight factors.

By modifying the weight factors before summing the products, DSP 2105can alter the directivity pattern of microphone array 2100. Varioustechniques, called beamforming techniques, exist for modifying theweight factors in particular ways. For example, by modifying theamplitude of the weight factors before summing, DSP 2105 can modify theshape of a directivity pattern. As another example, by modifying thephase of the weight factors before summing, DSP 2105 can control theangular location of a main lobe of a directivity pattern of microphonearray 2100. FIG. 23 illustrates an example in which the directivitypattern of a microphone array is steered by modifying the phases of theweight factors before summing. As can be seen from FIG. 23, in thisexample, the main lobe of the directivity pattern is shifted byapproximately 45 degrees.

As is well-known in the relevant art(s), beamforming techniques can benon-adaptive or adaptive. Non-adaptive beamforming techniques are notdependent on the data. In other words, non-adaptive beamformingtechniques apply the same algorithm regardless of the incoming soundwaves and resulting audio signals. In contrast, adaptive beamformingtechniques are dependent on the data. Accordingly, adaptive beamformingtechniques can be used to adaptively determine a DOA of a sound sourceand effectively steer the main lobe of a directivity pattern of amicrophone array in the DOA of the sound source. Example adaptivebeamforming techniques include, but are not limited to, Frost'salgorithm, linearly constrained minimum variance algorithms, generalizedsidelobe canceller algorithms, or the like.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 21 is shown for illustrative purposesonly, and not limitation. For example, microphones 2101 need not beevenly spaced apart. In addition, microphone array 2100 is shown as aone-dimensional array; however two-dimensional arrays are contemplatedwithin the scope of the present invention. As a person having ordinaryskill in the art knows, two-dimensional microphone arrays can be used todetermine a DOA of a sound source with respect to two distinctdimensions. In contrast, a one-dimensional array can only detect the DOAwith respect to one dimension.

IX. Embodiments Implementing Microphone Arrays

In embodiments to be described below, microphone 201 and/or microphone202 of wireless telephone 200 (FIGS. 2 and 3) can be replaced with amicrophone array, similar to microphone array 2100 shown in FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is an example transmit path 2400 of a wireless telephoneimplemented with a first microphone array 201′ and a second microphonearray 202′. First microphone array 201′ and second microphone array 202′function in like manner to exemplary microphone array 2100 (FIG. 21)described above. In particular, microphones 2401 a-n and 2411 a-nfunction to convert sound waves impinging thereon into audio signals.A/D converters 2402 a-n and 2412 a-n function to convert the analogaudio signals received from microphones 2401 a-n and 2411 a-n,respectively, into digital audio signals. DSP 2405 receives the digitalaudio signals from A/D converters 2402 a-n and combines them to producea first audio output signal that is sent to signal processor 420′.Similarly, DSP 2415 receives the digital audio signals from A/Dconverters 2412 a-n and combines them to produce a second audio outputsignal that is sent to signal processor 420′.

The remaining components in transmit path 2400 (namely, signal processor420′, speech encoder 404′, channel encoder 405′, modulator 406′, RFmodule 407′ and antenna 408′) function in substantially the same manneras the corresponding components discussed with reference to FIG. 4.Accordingly, the functionality of the remaining components is notdiscussed further.

In an embodiment of the present invention, DSP 2405, using adaptivebeamforming techniques, determines a DOA of a voice of a user of awireless telephone based on the digital audio signals received from A/Dconverters 2402 a-n. DSP 2405 then adaptively combines the digital audiosignals to effectively steer a maximum sensitivity angle of microphonearray 201′ so that the mouth of the user is within the maximumsensitivity angle. In this way, the single audio signal output by DSP2405 will tend to include a cleaner version of the user's voice, ascompared to an audio signal output from a single microphone (e.g.,microphone 201). The audio signal output by DSP 2405 is then received bysignal processor 420′ and processed in like manner to the audio signaloutput by microphone 201 (FIG. 4), which is described in detail above.

In another embodiment of the present invention, DSP 2415 receives thedigital audio signals from A/D converters 2412 a-n and, using adaptivebeamforming techniques, determines a DOA of a voice of a user of thewireless telephone based on the digital audio signals. DSP 2415 thenadaptively combines the digital audio signals to effectively steer aminimum sensitivity angle of microphone array 202′ so that the mouth ofthe user is within the minimum sensitivity angle. In this way, thesingle audio signal output by DSP 2415 will tend to not include theuser's voice; hence the output of DSP 2415 will tend to include a purerversion of background noise, as compared to an audio signal output froma single microphone (e.g., microphone 202). The audio signal output byDSP 2415 is then received by signal processor 420′ and processed in likemanner to the audio signal output by microphone 202 (FIG. 4), which isdescribed in detail above.

In most situations background noise is non-directional—it issubstantially the same in all directions. However, in some situations asingle noise source (e.g., a jackhammer or ambulance) accounts for amajority of the background noise. In these situations, the backgroundnoise is highly directional. In an embodiment of the invention, DSP 2405is configured to determine a DOA of a highly directional backgroundnoise source. DSP 2405 is further configured to adaptively combine thedigital audio signals to effectively steer a minimum sensitivity angleof microphone array 201′ so that the highly directional background noisesource is within the minimum sensitivity angle. In this way, microphonearray 201′ will tend to reject sound originating from the DOA of thehighly directional background noise source. Hence, microphone array 201′will consequently pick up a purer version of a user's voice, as comparedto a single microphone (e.g., microphone 201).

In another embodiment, DSP 2415 is configured to determine a DOA of ahighly directional background noise source. DSP 2415 is furtherconfigured to adaptively combine the digital audio signals from A/Dconverters 2412 a-n to effectively steer a maximum sensitivity angle ofmicrophone array 202′ so that the highly directional background noisesource is within the maximum sensitivity angle. In this way, microphonearray 202′ will tend to pick-up sound originating from the DOA of thehighly directional background noise source. Hence, microphone array 202′will consequently pick up a purer version of the highly directionalbackground noise, as compared to a single microphone (e.g., microphone202).

In a further embodiment (not shown), a wireless telephone includes afirst and second microphone array and a VAD. In this embodiment, a DSPis configured to determine a DOA of a highly directional backgroundnoise and a DOA of a user's voice. In addition, in a similar fashion tothat described above, the VAD detects time intervals in which a voicecomponent is present in the audio signal output by the first microphonearray. During time intervals in which a voice signal is present in theaudio signal output from the first microphone array, a DSP associatedwith the second microphone array adaptively steers a minimum sensitivityangle of the second microphone array so that the mouth of the user iswithin the minimum sensitivity angle. During time intervals in which avoice signal is not present in the audio signal output from the firstmicrophone array, a DSP associated with the second microphone arrayadaptively steers a maximum sensitivity angle of the second microphonearray so that the highly directional background noise source is withinthe maximum sensitivity angle. In other words, the second microphonearray, with the help of the VAD, adaptively switches between thefollowing: (i) rejecting the user's voice during time intervals in whichthe user is talking; and (ii) preferentially picking up a highlydirectional background noise sound during time intervals in which theuser is not talking. In this way, the second microphone array can pickup a purer version of background noise as compared to a singlemicrophone.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments described above are meantfor illustrative purposes only, and not limitation. In particular, it isto be appreciated that the term “digital signal processor,” “signalprocessor” or “DSP” used above and below can mean a single DSP, multipleDSPs, a single DSP algorithm, multiple DSP algorithms, or combinationsthereof. For example, DSP 2405, DSP 2415 and/or signal processor 420′(FIG. 24) can represent different DSP algorithms that function within asingle DSP. Additionally or alternatively, various combinations of DSP2405, DSP 2415 and/or signal processor 420′ can be implemented in asingle DSP or multiple DSPs as is known by a person skilled in therelevant art(s).

X. Conclusion

A wireless telephone implemented with at least one microphone array hasbeen disclosed. Specific reference to a wireless telephone having atleast one microphone array was presented for illustrative purposes only,and not limitation. It will be apparent to a person having ordinaryskill in the art that other types of telephones (e.g., cordedtelephones, corded telephone headsets, and/or BLUETOOTH(™) telephoneheadsets. ) can be implemented with at least one microphone array and atleast one DSP as describe herein. The DSP can be housed in the headsetor the handset of the telephone. It is to be appreciated that theseother types of telephones and/or headsets implemented with at least onemicrophone array and at least one DSP are within the scope of thepresent invention.

With regard to the example of a headset telephones, a first microphonearray can be mounted on the headset and a second microphone array can bemounted on a handset of the telephone. Alternatively, the secondmicrophone array can be mounted on the headset of the telephone. Ineither example, the second microphone array can be mounted on thetelephone in like manner to either microphone array 201′ or microphonearray 202′ of wireless telephone 200.

As another example, a BLUETOOTH(™) wireless telephone headset can have afirst microphone array mounted at the tip of its microphone boom closeto the mouth of a user and a second microphone array mounted at itsbase, which is supported near one of the user's ears by a hook over theear lobe.

The specifications and the drawings used in the foregoing descriptionwere meant for exemplary purposes only, and not limitation. It isintended that the full scope and spirit of the present invention bedetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A wireless telephone, comprising: an array of microphones, eachmicrophone in the array configured to receive sound waves emanating fromthe surrounding environment and to generate an audio signalcorresponding thereto; a digital signal processor (DSP) coupled to thearray of microphones, the DSP configured to receive the audio signalsfrom the array of microphones and to detect a direction of arrival (DOA)of a sound wave emanating from the mouth of a user based on the audiosignals and to adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA toproduce a first audio output signal.
 2. The wireless telephone of claim1, wherein the DSP is configured to adaptively combine the audio signalsbased on the DOA to effectively steer a maximum sensitivity angle of themicrophone array so that the mouth of the user is within the maximumsensitivity angle, wherein the maximum sensitivity angle is defined asan angle within which a sensitivity of the microphone array is above apredetermined threshold.
 3. The wireless telephone of claim 1, furthercomprising: a signal processor configured to receive the first audiooutput signal and a second audio output signal, and increase a ratio ofa voice component to a background noise component of the first audiooutput signal based on the content of at least one of the first audiooutput signal and the second audio output signal to produce a thirdaudio output signal.
 4. The wireless telephone of claim 3, wherein thesignal processor comprises a background noise cancellation module thatreceives the first and second audio output signals and cancels at leasta portion of the background noise component of the first audio outputsignal based on the content of the second audio output signal to producethe third audio output signal.
 5. The wireless telephone of claim 4,wherein the signal processor further comprises a noise suppressor thatreceives the second and third audio output signals and suppresses atleast a portion of a residual background noise component of the thirdaudio output signal based on the content of the second audio outputsignal and the third audio output signal to produce a fourth audiooutput signal.
 6. The wireless telephone of claim 3, wherein the signalprocessor comprises a noise suppressor that receives the first andsecond audio output signals and suppresses at least a portion of thebackground noise component of the first audio output signal based on thecontent of the first audio output signal and the second audio outputsignal to produce the third audio output signal.
 7. The wirelesstelephone of claim 3, further comprising: a voice activity detector(VAD) that receives the second and third audio output signals anddetects time intervals in which a voice component is present in thethird audio output signal based on the content of the second audiooutput signal and the third audio output signal.
 8. The wirelesstelephone of claim 3, further comprising: a second array of microphones,each microphone in the second array of microphones configured to receivesound waves emanating from the surrounding environment and to generatean audio signal corresponding thereto; a second DSP coupled to thesecond array of microphones, the second DSP configured to receive theaudio signals from the second array of microphones and to detect a DOAof a sound wave emanating from the mouth of a user based on the audiosignals and to adaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA toproduce the second audio output signal.
 9. The wireless telephone ofclaim 8, wherein the second DSP is configured to adaptively combine theaudio signals from the second array of microphones based on the DOA toeffectively steer a minimum sensitivity angle of the microphone array sothat the mouth of the user is within the minimum sensitivity angle,wherein the minimum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle withinwhich a sensitivity of the second microphone array is below apredetermined threshold.
 10. A wireless telephone, comprising: an arrayof microphones, each microphone in the array configured to receive soundwaves emanating from the surrounding environment and to generate anaudio signal corresponding thereto; a digital signal processor (DSP)coupled to the array of microphones, the DSP configured to receive theaudio signals from the array of microphones and to detect a direction ofarrival (DOA) of a sound wave emanating from a background noise sourcebased on the audio signals and to adaptively combine the audio signalsbased on the DOA to produce a first audio output signal.
 11. Thewireless telephone of claim 10, wherein the DSP is configured toadaptively combine the audio signals based on the DOA to effectivelysteer a minimum sensitivity angle of the microphone array so that thebackground noise source is within the minimum sensitivity angle, whereinthe minimum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the microphone is below a predetermined threshold. 12.The wireless telephone of claim 10, further comprising: a second arrayof microphones, each microphone in the second array of microphonesconfigured to receive sound waves emanating from the surroundingenvironment and to generate an audio signal corresponding thereto; asecond DSP coupled to the second array of microphones, the second DSPconfigured to receive the audio signals from the second array ofmicrophones and to detect a DOA of the sound wave emanating from thebackground noise source based on the audio signals and to adaptivelycombine the audio signals based on the DOA to produce a second audiooutput signal.
 13. The wireless telephone of claim 12, wherein thesecond DSP is configured to adaptively combine the audio signals fromthe second array of microphones based on the DOA to effectively steer amaximum sensitivity angle of the microphone array so that the backgroundnoise source is within the maximum sensitivity angle, wherein themaximum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the second microphone array is above a predeterminedthreshold.
 14. The wireless telephone of claim 12, further comprising: avoice activity detector (VAD) that receives the first and second audiooutput signals and detects time intervals in which a voice component ispresent in the first audio output signal based on the content of thefirst audio output signal and the second audio output signal.
 15. Thewireless telephone of claim 14, wherein the second DSP is furtherconfigured to detect a DOA of a sound wave emanating from the mouth of auser and to dynamically switch between one of (i) adaptively combiningthe audio signals from the second array of microphones based on the DOAof the sound wave emanating from the mouth of the user to effectivelysteer a minimum sensitivity angle of the second microphone array so thatthe mouth of the user is within the minimum sensitivity angle duringtime intervals in which a voice component is present in the first audiooutput signal, wherein the minimum sensitivity angle is defined as anangle within which a sensitivity of the second microphone array is belowa predetermined threshold, and (ii) adaptively combining the audiosignals from the second array of microphones based on the DOA of thebackground noise source to effectively steer a maximum sensitivity angleof the second microphone array so that the background noise source iswithin the maximum sensitivity angle during time intervals in which avoice component is not present in the first audio output signal, whereinthe maximum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the second microphone array is above a predeterminedthreshold.
 16. A method for processing audio signals in a wirelesstelephone having a microphone array, comprising: (a) outputting an audiosignal from each microphone in the microphone array; (b) detecting adirection of arrival (DOA) of a sound wave emanating from the mouth of auser based on the audio signals; and (c) adaptively combining the audiosignals based on the DOA to produce a first audio output signal.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein step (c) comprises: effectively steering amaximum sensitivity angle of the microphone array so that the mouth ofthe user is within the maximum sensitivity angle, wherein the maximumsensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which a sensitivity ofthe microphone array is above a predetermined threshold.
 18. The methodof claim 16, further comprising: (d) outputting an audio signal fromeach microphone in a second microphone array; (e) adaptively combiningthe audio signals from the microphones in the second microphone arraybased on the DOA to produce a second audio output signal.
 19. The methodof claim 18, wherein step (e) comprises: effectively steering a minimumsensitivity angle of the second microphone array so that the mouth ofthe user is within the minimum sensitivity angle, wherein the minimumsensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which a sensitivity ofthe second microphone array is below a predetermined threshold.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising: (f) increasing a ratio of avoice component to a background noise component of the first audiooutput signal based on the content of at least one of the first audiooutput signal and the second audio output signal to produce a thirdaudio output signal.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein step (f)comprises: canceling at least a portion of the background noisecomponent of the first audio output signal based on the content of thesecond audio output signal to produce the third audio output signal. 22.The method of claim 20, wherein step (f) comprises: suppressing at leasta portion of the background noise component of the first audio outputsignal based on the content of the first audio output signal and thesecond audio output signal to produce the third audio output signal. 23.The method of claim 20, further comprising: detecting time intervals inwhich a voice component is present in the third audio signal based onthe content of the second audio signal and the third audio signal.
 24. Amethod for processing audio signals in a wireless telephone having amicrophone array, comprising: (a) outputting an audio signal from eachmicrophone in the microphone array; (b) detecting a direction of arrival(DOA) of a sound wave emanating from a background noise source based onthe audio signals; and (c) adaptively combining the audio signals basedon the DOA to produce a first audio output signal.
 25. The method ofclaim 24, wherein step (c) comprises: effectively steering a minimumsensitivity angle of the microphone array so that the background noisesource is within the minimum sensitivity angle, wherein the minimumsensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which a sensitivity ofthe microphone is below a predetermined threshold.
 26. The method ofclaim 24, further comprising: (d) outputting an audio signal from eachmicrophone in a second microphone array; (e) adaptively combining theaudio signals from the microphones in the second microphone array basedon the DOA to produce a second audio output signal.
 27. The method ofclaim 26, wherein step (e) comprises: effectively steering a maximumsensitivity angle of the second microphone array so that the backgroundnoise source is within the maximum sensitivity angle, wherein themaximum sensitivity angle is defined as an angle within which asensitivity of the second microphone array is above a predeterminedthreshold.
 28. The method of claim 26, further comprising: (f) detectingtime intervals in which a voice component is present in the first audiooutput signal based on the content of the first audio output signal andthe second audio output signal.
 29. The method of claim 28, furthercomprising: (g) detecting a DOA of a sound wave emanating from the mouthof a user; and (h) dynamically switching between one of (1) adaptivelycombining the audio signals from the second array of microphones basedon the DOA of the sound wave emanating from the mouth of the user toeffectively steer a minimum sensitivity angle of the second microphonearray so that the mouth of the user is within the minimum sensitivityangle during time intervals in which a voice component is present in thefirst audio output signal, wherein the minimum sensitivity angle isdefined as an angle within which a sensitivity of the second microphonearray is below a predetermined threshold, and (2) adaptively combiningthe audio signals from the second array of microphones based on the DOAof the background noise source to effectively steer a maximumsensitivity angle of the second microphone array so that the backgroundnoise source is within the maximum sensitivity angle during timeintervals in which a voice component is not present in the first audiooutput signal, wherein the maximum sensitivity angle is defined as anangle within which a sensitivity of the second microphone array is abovea predetermined threshold.